Some software such as some enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) software stores metadata in binary large objects (“BLOBs”). These BLOBs of metadata can be stored in proprietary formats that are readable by program code in the internal runtime engine. In the case of some ERP software, the BLOBs of metadata are retrieved at runtime and used by the ERP software to provide various functionality. Because of the storage of the metadata in BLOBs and/or in proprietary formats, the metadata may be retrieved from storage and used at runtime, but otherwise may be protected from review, analysis, modification, and/or other access by entities or devices other than the ERP software.
Additionally, ERP software packages are generally heavily customizable, and users of the ERP software often expend large amounts of time and resources in tailoring the functionality of ERP software to suit their needs. ERP software vendors, as well as third party vendors, may develop and release add-ons or other components for the ERP software to provide various functionality. These add-ons and other components, as well as the ERP software itself, may be customized by a user to suit his or her needs.
With each release of the ERP software and/or the add-ons, the modifications made to tailor the ERP software and/or the add-ons to suit the user's needs may need to be made again. Tracking the changes made to the software, and (re-)implementing those changes in the new version of the software, can require large amounts of resources in terms of manpower, time, and/or computational resources.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.